Safe House

Every time I see Patrick Stewart I become more and more impressed by this actor's versatility. From Shakespeare to SciFi, from drama to suspense to historical epic, Stewart does it all, and does it very well. With "Safe House," Stewart demonstrates a wide range of talent, including - what I enjoyed most - a flair for subtle comedy, unexpected in a movie billed as a suspense flick.

I have to admit first off that if you're looking for a hair-raising, edge of your seat thriller, look elsewhere. I spent a lot more of my time sitting back chuckling than I did on the edge of my seat - and I mean that positively. This was a very funny movie in many ways, laced with some tense moments. Stewart plays Mace Sowell, a man suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease, who tries to convince his daughter Michelle (played by Joy Kilpatrick) that the life she thought he had lived had been a lie, and that he had really been a military intelligence officer whose life was now in danger because of the things he knew. She, of course, assumes that her father is delusional because of the Alzheimer's, and hires a caregiver (Andi Travers, played by Kimberley Williams in a pretty decent performance) who Sowell distrusts from the start, but finally begins to warm up to. There's the outline of a pretty suspenseful movie there, except for one basic fault: I had this thing figured out within about 10-15 minutes of the opening! It's very predictable. However, I must confess that the decision to have Sowell suffering from Alzheimer's throws a wild card into this, and there were a few times when, with the twists and turns that happen, and with Sowell's obvious confusion, I began to doubt what I had assumed would happen. So it definitely managed to hold my interest. Stewart, in addition to some wonderfully funny scenes, also showed his dramatic flair as he portrays Sowell struggling with his emotions as he confronts the disease beginning to ravage his mind.

Most of the other performances in the movie are solid but unspectacular. I frankly found the character of Stuart (played by Craig Shoemaker) to be nothing less than irritating. Why he had to play almost every scene at least partly impersonating a famous actor was beyond me, and I really just wanted him to go away after a while. Hector Elizondo as Dr. Simon, Sowell's psychiatrist, was underused and offered little.

Basically, though, this is a pretty good movie. I'd rate it as a 7/10.

I will start by admitting that I'm a Star Trek fan, and in particular a Next Gen fan. So yes, I have a bias towards liking Stewart, although I think most can agree he is a skilled actor.

That concession aside, and as my summary suggests, this is not an epic movie, just a short story. I loved the set design, which was quite clever; where most movies tend to create the impression of big houses and locales, this one manages to create the impression of close spaces, as appropriate for a fortress in suburbia.

You will continue to guess at whether or not Stewart's paranoia is justified or just symptoms of Alzheimer's until the very end. Stewart is well fitted for the part, or at the very least he was convincing to me. I think this particular says something since I'm used to seeing him as Captain Picard.

I wouldn't try to sell this off as an accurate portrayal of how DIA operatives act when they retire. I wouldn't know anything about that. I don't even know if there is such a thing as the DIA.

What I will say is that the movie is best taken as a diversion, a fun romp that keeps you interested, but it doesn't grip you like an epic. Perhaps rightly so, since the subject matter doesn't fit an epic movie anyway.

As a final note, I still don't see anything wrong with genre mixing. Why can't you have a drama that's funny, or a comedy with serious action, or whatever it is you want to blend? If it works it works, if it doesn't it doesn't, and it works for me here. (See as an example "The Big Hit," which the writer called a "hip-hop comic Hong Kong action movie") This movie is a small little tidbit, to be taken and enjoyed as such. 8/10

"Safe House" from 1998 stars Patrick Stewart, Kimberly Williams, and Hector Elizondo.

Stewart plays Mace Sowell, a former operative for the DIA (not CIA as he's quick to point out) - the Defense Intelligence Agency. Now retired, he lives as if he is about to be killed any second. In his bed is a dummy version of him, while he sleeps in another area; he has a room full of computer monitors which track what's happening on his property, monitors conversations, and he seems to always be signing into something top secret. When he goes out in the car with his daughter Michelle (Joy Kilpatrick), he is heavily disguised and lying on the floor in the back seat. His doctor (Elizondo) prescribes medication for him that he won't take. He periodically schedules "drills" which includes such things as attacks on his home where a masked man (actually his friend Marc) uses his maid as a human shield.

It's clear to Michelle that her father needs round the clock care, as he's in the early stages of Alzheimer's. In order to allow him to stay at home, she hires a social worker, Andi Travers (Williams) to stay with him. Over time, the two form a bond. He tells her that he has enough evidence against his old boss at the DIA, Thomas Michelmore, who is running for President, to ruin his career. Michelmore has already had several people eliminated who knew too much, and Mace believes he is next.

Mace has this evidence on a server that will email it to every news outlet in the world unless it's reset with a new password every 24 hours.

So the question becomes - okay, he probably is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, but is he just paranoid or is someone really out to get him? Is any of this true? It's clear his daughter, her husband, and Mace's doctor don't believe him. Will Andi?

Really fantastic film that keeps you absorbed and involved until the very end with lots of surprise action and humor, all leading up to a fantastic finale.

Patrick Stewart is wonderful as a man who realizes he's going over the edge and fights every second to stave off dementia. Kimberly Williams as his patient and level-headed caretaker does an excellent job throughout, as does James Harlow (Marc) who is constantly coming up with new impressions of actors, everyone from Jim Nabors to Jimmy Stewart.

Highly recommended.

The concept of making the audience wonder whether the hero is really being threatened or is the victim of delusions, has been used several times recently. I enjoyed this take on it better than most and I love Patrick Stewart in any role! I hadn't expected it to be so heart-wrenching at times, but it was. One scene, in which Mace (P.S.)is doing a cognitive test for his doctor, was particularly effective. As a result, this was not only a suspense movie it had some very realistic portrayals of the slow but steady mental decline of Alzheimer's victims--and how tragic that is, as they realize it is happening. I think I appreciated that accurate and informational aspect as much as I did the mystery of Mace's activities with his complex computer set-up. I watched this while walking on my treadmill and usually do a movie in two sessions. This one kept me going through the entire time.

I usually don't rent movies from the video store that I haven't heard of before, except from another video store. Chances are I'll end up watching something that deserved the straight-to-video fate it received. Every once in a while I need to be reminded why. "Safe House" is that reminder.

The house that Patrick Stewart's character lives in is a real beauty. If I had that kind of money, I'd be happy to live there -- Mace Sowell wouldn't even have to take any of the decor or furniture with him. I mean, aside from the fact that it has more weaponry than the United States Marine Corps and Ghengis Khan's army put together, Sowell is really living it up. If there's one line of truth in the screenplay, it's when Kimberly Williams compliments him on his great taste.

Plot holes are too great in number to count, and it's a waste of energy to resent a ludicrous twist ending when the whole movie has been pulling the rug out from under you up until then. What I did resent was the really awful acting job by Stewart. I know he's a good actor; he did "A Christmas Carol" on stage, and played all the characters. He gives the "Star Trek" films, like the TV series they are based on, a solid foundation. He gave an outstanding supporting performance in "Conspiracy Theory." Here he just isn't suited for the role. I wasn't able to accept him as an Alzheimer's sufferer, or even an infirm old man. He's about as believable as Denzel Washington would be as a movie villain -- who's going to buy that?

Minus Stewart, I would have liked to have seen a movie about a man suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and his dealings with his beautiful young caretaker (though you might skip the romance angle). That part of the story thankfully manages to avoid the "Driving Miss Daisy" cliches, if not the "Charly" cliches. Even better, I wouldn't mind a movie about an ex-DIA operative shacking himself up in a SoCal mansion with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of high-tech security equipment and heavy artillery, and his constant "drills." But both? I don't think so. By the end of "Safe House" I was tired of the characters, tired of being jerked around, tired of the laughable dialogue, and tired of the pool cleaner's movie star impersonations. But I was not tired of looking around that house.